Posted on 12/06/2008 5:51:37 PM PST by Free ThinkerNY
The reason I wrote The Godfather was to make money. My first novel, The Dark Arena (1955), received very good reviews and netted me $3,500, so I thought I was going to be rich and famous.
But when my second novel, The Fortunate Pilgrim, came out ten years later and netted me just $3,000, I was going downhill fast.
While the book received some extraordinarily fine reviews, my publisher was not impressed. I asked them for an advance to start on my next book (which would be a big classic), and the editors were cool. They were courteous. They were kind. They showed me the door.
One editor had wistfully remarked that if The Fortunate Pilgrim had only had a little more of that Mafia stuff in it, maybe the book would have made money. (One of the minor characters was a Mob chief.)
I was 45 years old and tired of being an artist. Besides, I owed $20,000 to relatives, finance companies, banks, and assorted bookmakers and shylocks. It was time to grow up and sell out, as Lenny Bruce once advised.
So I told my editors, OK, I’ll write a book about the Mafia, just give me some money to get started. They said no money until we see 100 pages. I wrote a ten-page outline. They showed me the door again.
I knew I’d never be able to write another book if the next one wasn’t a success. The psychological and economic pressure would be too much. I had never doubted I could write a best-selling commercial novel whenever I chose to do so. My writing friends, my family, my children and my creditors all assured me now was the time to put up or shut up.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
You mean Don Barzini, paisano? We know Bruno Tattaglia didn't do it... He was just a front man "pimp."
Don Barzini! I’ve had too much Beaujolais Nouveau (a very UN-Sicillian drink, Pietro Clemenza was more of a Strega man!) tonight.
The studio suggested Robert Redford (YEECH!) for Michael, while Robert Evans (I think) was the one who suggested John Cassavetes (who would have been too old). A damn shame that Pacino has evolved into a screaming, screeching parody of himself since “And Justice for All.”
"A lawyer with his briefcase can steal more than a hundred men with guns." Don Corleone, in The Godfather ... truer words...
http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0000814/
A salut! I like Anisette myself.
Ciao!
Francesco Lombardini
Good book.
There is no book for the second movie. It was a screen play. A lot of the material is covered in the Godfather book though.
The officially liscensed sequels by Winegardner aren’t very good at all.
redford would have been hopeless. He is like Warren beatty - wooden. Both preen in front of the camera because they were lucky to win the lottery at birth for above average looks.
Al got over the top in most of his stuff. Still, he was quite good in the Godfather considering he was a fairly young and inexperienced actor at the time. I forget if Dog Day and Serpico came after godfather.
Pacino's first role to attract critical attention was "A Panic in Needle Park", which was a year or two earlier than the Godfather. Interesting that I was IN the actual Needle Park referenced in said film today, and the worst thing that can happen to you there today is getting run over by an aggressive UWS mom with a stroller.
Is Needle Park in NYC? Yeah Al in Scent of a Woman was too much. I think I missed And Justice.
I must admit I am a big fan of Scarface. ;-) The shame.
Yep. Sherman Square at West 72nd Street and Broadway. There is a 24-Hour Papaya/Hot Dog place right there that was once popular with homeless and addicts. The nabe has been well gentrified for at least 25 years now. After being kicked out, the addicts moved first downtown (Tompkins Square), and then to various places in the outer boroughs.
Great movie to watch today to see the Upper West Side when it was at its Lindsay-era worst, along with "Little Murders."
Yes, I didn’t say it would be bad — just different.
Ain't that the truth! I saw him in a movie a few months ago (that really long movie about AP as a cop chasing Robert De Niro as a cat burglar-too lazy to google title) and all Pacino did in the way of acting was randomly select certain lines of dialogue for screaming. It was so painful and annoying I turned the movie off. I had the impression he was deliberately doing a crappy job as a gesture of contempt to the folks who thought they HAD to pay him big bucks to be in their movie, but I'm probably wrong.
Especially page 28 ;-)
My college roommate couldn't believe I'd never read the book, so she got me a copy for Christmas. We used to have a joke about page 28
After several viewings, I’ve come to appreciate the 3rd one a bit more. It’s a tragic Italian opera.
It does show the tragedy of Michael’s life.
Linday should be a poster boy for the evils of RINOs. It looks like Bloomberg is attempting to re-Dinkins NYC after Rudy turned the city around. :-(
bump
So that's why he wrote the script for Superman: The Movie!
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